Flower Spotlight: Heavenly Hydrangeas Steal the Show!

It’s easy to see why so many folks adore hydrangeas. This hardy shrub produces bursts of vivid color on velvety petals as delicate-looking as a butterfly’s wing, and the large, one-of-a-kind ball-shaped clusters of flowers of Hydrangea macrophylla are like a colorful living pom-pom.

Under the right conditions, hydrangeas can even perform a “magic trick” by changing the color of their blooms! Read on to learn more about this scene-stealing beauty.

Beautiful Blue Flowers and other Traits that Make Hydrangeas Special

Most flowers are lovely, but the hydrangea isn’t just any old bloom. Hydrangea macrophylla, the most popular hydrangea variety, is famous for its generously-sized ball-shaped clusters of blooms that seem to burst with color, giving this flower its hallmark look (see photo below).

The bloom clusters are lovely, delicate-looking petals that come in an array of beautiful colors. This can include lavender, pink, purple, red, or white. Best of all, hydrangeas are available in one of the most difficult-to-find natural bloom colors: blue.

Hydrangea blooms can range from pale powder blue to deep indigo, and these beautiful blue flowers will make you want to stop and stare!

But what if you’re in the mood for a different-colored bloom? If you’ve got a lace cap or mophead hydrangea, you can make it change color!

These hydrangea varieties can perform the “magic trick” of changing their bloom color; all it takes is a change in soil pH. Pretty clever for a flower, no? Click here for instructions, courtesy of HGTV.

Another thing that makes hydrangeas unique is that many varieties will thrive in partial shade, whereas other flowers will wither.

How to Grow 

Hydrangeas have a bit of a reputation for needing lots of pruning, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Whether or not you need to prune your hydrangeas and how much depends on what type of hydrangeas you grow and how you plant them.

This article courtesy of Today’s Homeowner and this cheat sheet courtesy of HGTV outline the primary care for some of the most popular types of hydrangea.

This article gives you the lowdown on whether to prune your hydrangea, how to prune, and when to get the healthiest plant and the most blooms.

Types of Hydrangeas

According to the United States National Arboretum, there are about 23 species of hydrangea. We widely cultivate about 5 in the U.S. While the ball-shaped Hydrangea macrophylla var. macrophylla (see top 3 photos above) is the most popular, the lovely Hydrangea macrophylla var. Normalise, or lacecap hydrangea is also popular (see image directly above).

If you’re still wondering just how many beautiful shapes and colors hydrangeas come in, check out this slide show of 16 gorgeous hydrangea varieties, and prepare to be in awe!

Plant some stunning hydrangeas in your garden, and be ready for them to steal the show!

Photos courtesy of Tom Bech, Liz Web, kobakou., and isamiga76.